Defensive tackle
Just as Brian Burns looks awfully lonely at the top of the edge depth chart, the same is true for Kawann Short on the interior. His absence for most of the 2019 season proved to be devastating for Carolina’s defense and getting him back healthy will obviously be a huge plus. Short would have been a superstar in another Aaron Donald-less era. He’s only one man though and the Panthers desperately need to surround him with more help.
If the season were to start today, Zach Kerr would likely fill the hole left behind by Dontari Poe at nose tackle. However, the team also lost Gerald McCoy and Vernon Butler. Long-time veteran and quality backup Kyle Love is a free agent, as well.
In our humble opinion, the Panthers should have paid up for a defensive tackle in free agency, because the options at this spot aren’t great after the first couple of rounds.
Auburn’s Derrick Brown and South Carolina’s Javon Kinlaw are the only true first-round DT prospects this year. If they pass on them, they might have to take someone like TCU’s Ross Blacklock or Oklahoma’s Neville Gallimore in round two. The cupboard gets pretty thin after that. For what it’s worth, they did hold a Zoom meeting with Blacklock.